Young Vengeance
by NightSid
Summary: Dick Grayson doesn't get to live a sheltered life with Bruce Wayne. (If you could call it that) Instead he waits and trains until he's 17 to seek vengeance for his parents. He assembles a small team under the ideals of vengeance. Though they may not be the innocent Young Justice we know, they will get the job done. Young Justice AU.DickxBabs and possible Spitfire
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Guys! The one or two of you read my last bad story, hello and thank you! I have good news! This story is good in my opinion, which means you guys will probably on some level like it too. I haven't been updating my other story for a while, due to the fact that it sucked. I'm not good at beginnings, so even if you don't like this chapter, give it another chance. I've always noticed the "Dick not being adopted by Bruce Wayne' plot being overused. Dick was always adopted by Deathstroke or some other villain, but never been on his own. In this, Dick pulls together the original team (eventually) and they join on the path of vengeance. Quickly Dick turns to more violent option to find his parents' murderer. Dick x Babs and possible Spitfire**.

Dick Grayson was different to say the least. He was part of a circus troupe for as long as he could remember. His parents and him worked together in the act called The Flying Grayson's. He was eight years old when he learned how to do the quadruple flip. There were only three people who could do that. His parents and himself. When he was nine years old, his world fell apart. His parents fell to their deaths during a performance. Afterwards, it was clear that the trapeze was tampered with. Instantly a bystander by the name of Bruce Wayne attempted to take Dick Grayson in as his ward. This action would put Dick Grayson down the path of success. He would become a great hero. He would be a legend.

Instead... he slipped through the cracks. Dick Grayson would go down a darker path. The world would go down a darker path. Someone had tampered with the timeline. Unfortunately, Dick Grayson didn't know that. He was the foundation, and he was removed.

* * *

8 years later

* * *

It took some coaxing, but Dick finally got Barbara to come see his project. She fought anything he tried to show her, since she didn't like that he slept on the streets. She tried to get him to become the ward of her father, Commissioner Gordon. Every time she brought it up, he replied with "I care about you too much", whatever that meant. He was 17, and she was 21. They met while Barbara's father was trying to find Dick's parents' murderer.

Dick had led her into the inner Gotham Park. Gotham's park was so big that most people got lost in it. Dick had quickly learned the laws of the park and made his makeshift shelter in a tree. All he had was a hammock, some food, and a small place for his belongings. His parents left him with plenty of money. They were some of the most successful trapeze artists after all.

Soon they came up on a bush, and Dick grabbed onto a particularly big branch and pulled the bush away. There was a big hole under it.

"Uh... Dick?" Barbara stuttered, "What in the world is that?"

"Guess you'll have to find out," He gestured to the hole. "Ladies first."

Barbara sighed and peered down the hole. There was metal ladder on the edge, so she climbed down using the ladder. Dick dropped down behind her. It was a small room, but there was a big drop to the right. The room was made of a dark rock, and the walls were damp. There was a lantern on the floor. Dick lit the lantern and set it back down.

"I found this place when I was gathering sticks for a small fire," He said, walking over to the drop. He started walking down a side staircase Barbara didn't see. She reluctantly followed him. Soon the light faded, and Dick had to take her hand to lead her. It was clear he had gone down the staircase several times. He led her perfectly down, and she hardly even stumbled. When they reached the bottom, he let go of her hand and flipped a big switch. Dim lights turned on.

The cave was huge. The cavern stretched above them in a rough dome. The lights were bolted into the walls. There was a faint rush of water coming from a passage way that no doubt went deeper. Oddly, the air seemed fresher.

"The cave is huge, there are tunnels that go so deep that the oxygen is nearly nonexistent." Dick told Barbara. Barbara took a deep breath. Why was the air so fresh?

"There's a few tunnels that go straight up. One of them has an elevator in it," Dick said, as if reading her mind.

"Whose place is this?" Barbara asked.

"Mine, now." Dick did his best evil laugh impression.

"Better than a tree, I guess," Barbara noted.

"I have an idea." Dick said, his voice turning serious. Barbara turned to him, and he looked at her seriously.

"I've _had_ an idea." He said, walking down a side passage way. He gestured for her to follow. Barbara followed him. She had a feeling she wouldn't like this.

"Gotham has the worst crime rate in world. Batman can hardly scratch it," Dick said, turning on the way down the passage. There was a smaller room at the end.

"Yeah. Even Batman can't be everywhere," Barbara objected, defending the Caped Crusader.

"But, if we got a team..." Dick started.

"No." Barbara shot him down.

"But-" Dick tried feebly to start again.

"No." Barbara was determined.

"I already told Artemis-" Dick started again.

"WHAT?" Barbara was shocked.

"-And she said yes-" Dick finished, a smirk on his face.

"WHAT?" Barbara half wanted to sob. There was no stopping him now. Once he had a least one helper, he would never stop. They reached the room.

"-And here's my progress so far," He announced, gesturing into the room.

The room was full of weaponry, abominations of cloth, and other things. Dick had evidently been trying to sew. The main attraction was the suit that was hung up on the dark wall. It was completely jet black except for a blue bird design sewn roughly into the chest. The gloves had metal weights in them, and the boots were steel toed, with compartments on the side. Two escrima sticks, foot long metal rods, were set on a table. There were also a few throwing items and metal arm braces. No doubt the other cabinets were full of other weapons.

"I've been busy." Dick said, avoiding Barbara's eyes.

"Really?" Barbara remarked sarcastically.

* * *

**Sorry that it's short. Please review, follow, and if you want favorite! Please tell me what you think and your predictions! You guys always make me want to write more!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Most of the stuff that you wanted is coming later in the story. The League is used to this happening, but this team will get farther and catch the attention of the League. As for an explanation for the cave, that comes sooner. This chapter brings all of the beginning characters together. Later on, Kaldur and even Superboy are going to join the team. I'm not sure about the other characters, but they'll make appearances. Thanks to everyone that followed, favorited, and even reviewed. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Dick put on the suit. He hadn't actually put it on before. Dick still hadn't come up with a name. He grabbed a domino mask and fixed it on his face. He made the white fabric in a way that he could see freely through it, while people looking from outside his eyes would see an unsettling white. He walked up to a mirror. The craftsmanship was bad, and it wouldn't even stop a knife, but it was a suit. It would work out. He grabbed the escrima sticks off of the table, and slipped them into holsters on his back. He slipped on the metal arm braces. He put a few of his throwing items into the compartments in the braces. He also put a taser, a medkit, and a few other useful items in his boots.

Dick walked back down the passage. Barbara waited at the end of it. She had left since he had to change into the costume.

"Well well well," Barbara said, walking up to him and touching the blue bird design on his chest's edges. "This is terrible," She retorted playfully.

"You're just jealous that I can sew," He snapped, equally playful.

"Am I interrupting something?" A girl's voice said. They both jumped. Artemis walked from the shadows. Artemis had blonde hair that was normally in a ponytail. She was slender, and was skilled with a bow. Her family was straight from an action movie. Her dad was an assassin by the name of Sportsmaster. Her mother was an ex-assassin by the name of a Huntress, but now she just went by Paula. She had been crippled while doing her job. Artemis's sister, Jade, was a complete mystery to Dick and Barbara.

Artemis ruffled Dick's black hair and Barbara's red hair.

"She wasn't lying about your sewing skills," Artemis said, touching the bird design.

Dick pushed her hand away. "I finished your arrows. They should fit your bow." He gestured to the weapons room. "If you want to put your costume on, I'm done in there."

"You fixed it? It's not going to fall apart? Like last time?" Artemis questioned with a bitter face.

"Do I want to know?" Barbara asked carefully. Her costume fell apart? That had to be a good story.

"No." Artemis snapped before walking down the passage.

Barbara turned to Dick. "Are you going to 'fess up?"

Dick smirked and didn't comment.

"What can your fancy suit do anyways?" Barbara asked.

"Protect my identity," Dick answered, adjusting his mask. There were a few seconds of silence.

"So... What's the game plan?" Barbara asked.

"What do you mean?" Dick asked, going through his weaponry.

"You've heard of Rupert Thorne?" Dick asked, glancing at her.

"Who hasn't?" Barbara replied. Rupert Thorne was an infamous mob boss. He'd ordered raids on a lot of technology companies. The guy had to be loaded.

"I bet we could get some good technology off of him," Dick said.

"Not bad, but the police have never figured out even one of his strongholds. I doubt even Batman knows much," Barbara noted.

"You know a lot about computers though. I bet you could find him," Dick said.

"Even if you found him, how are you going to get through his defenses? From what the police said, the guy has a small army," Barbara said.

"I made suits for Roy and Wally though. They will help-" Dick started.

"You told them?" Barbara said sharply.

"Well no, but-" Dick answered feebly.

"And you didn't make one for me?" Barbara asked with eyes that could kill.

"Well-" Dick started again.

"Hey! Get a room or get out. Jeesh," Artemis called, walking down the passage. She was wearing a green outfit with a mask that left her eyes and the bottom part of her face uncovered. She had a quiver full of arrows, and a bow in her hand.

Barbara sighed. It could wait. "Why are you guys dressed up again?"

"I wanted to sum up our equipment," Dick said, pulling one of the throwing devices out of his brace. It was a thin metal curve shaped object with a small blade on the bottom. He opened it and revealed that it had two sides. The curve was on each side.

"Nice, What's it called?" Artemis asked.

"Wing-Ding," Dick said confidently.

Artemis doubled over laughing. Barbara tried and failed to not laugh.

Dick glared at them. He mumbled something about "best I could come up with",and "she asked early".

"When are you going to call Wally and Roy?" Barbara asked, taking out a phone.

"You call them. I'll go outside and lead them in," Artemis volunteered, pulling off her mask.

"Fine," Dick said, gesturing to Barbara.

In under an hour, Wally and Roy were walking down the stone staircase. Wally was a skinny tall redhead whose hair was a mess. Roy had a more muscular build with spiky red hair. They looked around in shock at the huge cave, jaws dropped.

"Did you tell them?" Dick asked Barbara, who had called them.

"Ye-"

"Where's our suits?" Wally asked loudly. Well that answered the question.

Dick gestured down the hallway that led to the suit room. Wally took off down the hallway. Roy commented with a "nice" and walked down the hallway.

"Do you have a computer? It'll be hard to find Thorne without one," Barbara asked Dick.

"Don't you have one at home?" Dick replied, glancing at her.

"That computer can be tracked to my home. If we had one here with our own Wifi router, they wouldn't know how to get down here," Barbara said.

"Fine. When we get some money I'll let you buy one," Dick replied.

"Once I have the money I'll get one built. That'll work better," she said to herself.

"What about our money situation?" Artemis asked.

"I've already ordered all the equipment we need... I guess we'll just stick with what we have," Dick said thoughtfully.

Artemis smirked, "So... That means that we'll have to stick with our costumes we have ready now huh?"

"No." Barbara stated firmly. She wasn't just going to let them go out there without her.

Barbara snatched an escrima stick from behind his shoulder and raised it to smack him. When she swung, he snatched it from the air and put it behind her neck and pulled her close. Their noses were inches apart.

"You win," Barbara said under her breath. She was slowly blushing from the close contact.

"I can't hear you," Dick sang cheerfully. He acted like it was normal.

"You win," She said louder. He was too close for her comfort.

"You done?" Artemis called, standing next to the other redheads. Wally wore a black suit with dark red stripes going down his arms and a red circle on his chest. He had a mask similar to Artemis's except his hair had a hole to come out in the top. He had a two foot long metal baton with a yellow stripe on it. Roy wore a red and black suit with a mask like Dick's. He had a quiver on his back and a traditional bow colored black and red.

"Yep," Dick said. Barbara looked down.

"You want to go outside and practice? Save some people?" Artemis asked.

"Sounds good to me," Roy said. He grinned and tested his bowstring.

"I want to be able to know what's going on," Barbara interrupted.

Dick pulled out phone and called Barbara. He connected it to a small earphone and put it in his ear.

"Happy?" He said through the earphone.

Barbara crossed her arms. "Mostly."

They all turned and started walking up the staircase.

"You're driving Arty," Dick ordered. Barbara couldn't hear her reply as they were already out of her hearing range. They slowly disappeared as they reached the top of the staircase.

* * *

Please follow and review!


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't like this chapter. The next chapter is decent. Hopefully the fifth chapter will make up for that. Sorry for the late upload. School is busy. (or maybe I just can't manage my time right. Forgive my failure with this chapter. But, if you like it, follow and review! (And check out my Christmas one shot.)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Young Justice or DC. Probably a good thing.**

* * *

The evening sun sank as they left the cave. Luckily nobody was around. It would have looked odd. Four people leaving a hole in the ground. They also have multicolored costumes and weapons! Fun!

Dick led them through the park to the parking lot. They climbed into Artemis's car. Dick got shotgun while Artemis drove. He started a small conversation with Barbara through his ear phone. He seemed to put the others in another room while he was talking to Barbara. He briefly told Artemis a street and returned to his private conversation.

After ten minutes, Artemis realized why Dick wanted them to patrol around there. There were shady people walking down the street, head down, eyes looking everywhere. They often reached for something in their pocket. The buildings were old and used. Windows were boarded.

Soon Dick stopped talking and pointed to an alley. Artemis drove in and they all got out. They all fixed their masks and checked their equipment before Dick started going up a nearby fire escape.

"Dick!" Artemis hissed.

He stopped and glanced back down.

"We aren't all ninjas!" Roy retorted, reaching up for the fire ladder.

Dick grinned apologetically and kicked the ladder down so it was within their reach. Artemis agilely climbed up first and Wally and Roy followed. When they reached the roof, Dick was looking down at the street.

"What now?" Wally asked, snatching an arrow from Artemis's quiver.

While Artemis was trying to get back her arrow, Dick said, "We wait until Barbara gets a problem on the police radio. Until then, we look for smaller crimes."

Artemis grabbed her arrow back, but when she turned, Dick was gone. That piece of crap. She immediately started looking for him.

"What is his problem?" Roy shouted, aggravated.

"There he is!" Wally yelled, pointing to a figure moving across the rooftops.

Artemis took off after him, but Wally quickly dashed past her and took the lead. Roy took the rear, his more muscular build slowing him down. The second Wally reached Dick he had jumped down from the rooftop and down onto the street. He broke his fall by rolling and using the momentum to get behind cover. Wally looked wildly around for a fire escape just as Artemis reached him. She pointed at one a few meters away.

They ran over, practically flying down the stairs and jumping down from the ladder. Dick motioned for them to come to him. They ran over, Roy immediately behind them.

"What was that?" Artemis exclaimed.

"There's a store that's being held down by an arms dealer. They have hostages," Dick said, not having even broken a sweat from the run.

Artemis took the earpiece from Dick. "Tell your boyfriend to calm down and wait for us next time," she said into it before handing it back.

Artemis could hear Barbara saying something inappropriate before they started running to the jewelry store.

Dick led the team to a ladder on the back of the building. He took the lead as they climbed up the ladder. The roof had the usual air conditioner and heater on the top. Dick opened a vent and looked down it. He quickly pulled back.

"They're right there," He said.

"Roy get down to the door behind the building. Artemis and Wally, come with me," He said quickly. Dick paused. "Go."

He turned and jumped down the vent, which led straight into the room. Three thugs had guns and stood near a few people crouched on the floor, hands on their heads. Hostages.

Dick tilted his hand back and tossed his right escrima stick at the thugs. It spun and knocked two of them down. The third raised his gun just as a blunt arrow hit the back of his head. The thug hit the ground as Roy walked in from the back door. Dick quickly spun around, searching for more thugs just as Wally came out from the vent after Artemis. Wally quickly started helping the hostages up and asking if they were hurt.

"What do you think you're doing? Get them!" A gruff voice said from behind a display case. Five more thugs came out.

"Oh crap," Wally shouted, pushing the hostages down just as bullets tore through the air.

Dick took cover behind a display case as bullets shattered multiple displays. Glass, blood, and noise was all Dick could think about. He instantly gathered himself and jumped up and over the display. The first thug screamed as the dark figure smashed him against the wall. Dick turned and tripped another in mid stride. Two were hit by arrows and the last one raised his hands. Wally smacked him down.

"Oooh, I wonder if the news crew is here," Wally grinned, flexing.

"Are you okay, Dick?" Barbara asked.

He pressed the earpiece more comfortably in his ear. "Yeah."

"We're clear. Get to the back door. Let's get out of here," He ordered, smirking.

Artemis pushed Wally to the door before he could protest. Dick grabbed his escrima that was on the ground. They all moved to the door, the hostages standing and looking after them in wonder.

They ran over rooftops to make it back to the car. As soon as they got in they took off their masks and tried to not be suspicious. Though Artemis may have tensed up a bit when the police drove by once. Still, after a half hour, they successfully made it to the cave. Barbara waved to them as they drove off the road to the entrance to the cave.

They all got out, Dick pulling out a piece of glass, wincing. Barbara glared at him. He held up a finger and pulled a first aid kit from his boot. She nodded, smirking. Artemis shook her head, groaning.

"Let's get out of our costumes," Dick said, yawning.

"Sounds good," Artemis said, going down the staircase first.

Barbara had to admit, they did good. After all, nobody died.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! I'll (hopefully) get the next chapter up next weekend. Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Well, I'm sick. Haven't felt good enough to write, so I haven't even started the next chapter. Hope you guys like this anyways.**

* * *

Barbara kept a mild interest on her project for the team. Her doodle for her costume was on the wall of her room. She was waiting for Dick to call her and the rest for the plan for the night. She had her boots by the window and a coat on the windowsill. She was shook from her thoughts by a distant thud outside. Barbara stood and opened the window.

Dick's head popped from the edge of the window. She reflexively punched him.

"Ouch," He said, rubbing his nose.

"Sorry! Eh, you okay?" Barbara reached for a tissue box.

"Fine. I was just wondering if you could try to find a map of down town?" Dick pushed away the box.

"Why would you want that?" She asked, putting on her boots and coat.

"I was thinking it would be a good idea to look for a cheap place to get equipment," Dick said, climbing in the window.

Barbara started rapidly typing in searches for the area. She also stopped to push a box towards Dick. He opened it. It was full of earpieces.

"Nice. This'll make it easier to talk," He said, sitting back on the window, tucking them away in his small backpack.

Barbara printed off some old blueprints and handed them to him. He looked over them and tucked them away. He looked around the room. He hadn't been in it in a while. Her doodle of her costume caught his eye.

"Copycat," He grinned. It had a few similarities to another costume.

"Well... It's hard not to be a copycat in our world. Every type of costume has been done, so why not just take inspiration off another cool costume?"

"Cool?" Dick's right eyebrow raised.

They were abruptly interrupted by footsteps and a deep voice. "Who you talking to Barb?" Commissioner Gordon.

"You need to get out of here," Barbara said quickly, turning to Dick.

He shot forward and flirtatiously kissed her cheek. The door opened. "Who in the-? STOP!"

Dick heard a gun being raised as he climbed through the window. "STOP! You little piece of-!"

A gunshot rang out just as Dick jumped off the fire escape. He broke his fall by rolling off the momentum. He wouldn't become paste today. He recovered immediately and dodged a final bullet that sent up sparks.

"See ya later Babs!" He shouted before turning a corner on the street and stopping to catch his breath.

* * *

A few hours later he called the other people on the team. Everybody met at cave just as Dick was cleaning up. He handed out the earpieces and got a glare from Barbara. Apparently her dad didn't like random boys visiting Barbara early in the morning and jumping out the window. How was he supposed to know?

He handed them each a few new gadgets and they headed to the equipment room. He had patched the few cuts in their costumes. He picked up a wallet-sized bag and handed it to Artemis. She opened it and saw lock picks. They looked advanced and expensive.

She looked up and opened her mouth to deny her abilities.

"I know you can use them. How else did you get into my mini-safe last month?" He said, raising an eyebrow.

She closed her mouth and silently took them. She put them in the single compartment in her boot. Roy and Artemis got a few extra blunt arrows and a new rope arrow.

Wally got a rope with a hook on the end, so he could pull down fire ladders. Dick got one of the same. While Barbara got nothing. She sulked slightly as Dick was handing out even more gadgets. He guiltily handed her one of his wing-dings. She reluctantly took the weapon, not sure how the mechanism worked.

"I'll teach you," Dick said, as if reading her mind.

"Nice," Wally commented, "Is that your strategy for picking up women? It needs some work."

Dick and Barbara flushed, and Barbara quickly stashed away the wing-ding.

Artemis hit Wally on the arm. Hard.

"Don't break his arm. He needs that to use his new toy," Dick joked.

Dick led them back to the main room. Barbara and Artemis immediately sat back in the only two chairs in the room.

Dick looked at them with a questioning look.

"'Gents first," Artemis grinned.

Dick pointed to a wooden ladder laid on a ledge. "Try to get it with your hook rope."

"My left arm still hurts. Gosh. Good thing I only need my right," Wally babbled.

Artemis stood.

"Never mind!" Wally panicked, taking a step back. Artemis sat down.

"You have a... interesting control over Wally," Barbara noted.

"What about you and Dick?" Artemis glanced over.

"He's what, four years younger than me!" Barbara shouted indignantly.

"He'll be eighteen in December," Artemis rose an eyebrow.

Barbara wisely chose to not reply. Meanwhile Wally got hit in the head with a wooden ladder.

"Don't know your own strength?" Dick asked, helping Wally up with a smirk.

Artemis called out, "The opposite!"

"It was lighter than I thought," Wally grumbled.

Dick pushed the ladder back on the ledge. He pointed to Roy.

Roy pulled out the rope arrow and attached the rope to his wrist. The ladder shouldn't have been too heavy, he reasoned. He also had a loop on his belt that he would use if he was pulling something heavier.

"Once we get more money, I'll get a better cable, so you may be able to scale buildings with it," Dick said.

Roy fired the arrow. It flew between the first rung and fell into the second. He pulled it, and the arrow caught on the rung. He easily pulled it down, and, unlike Wally he didn't hit himself in the head.

"How'd you get all the lights up?" Artemis called to Dick.

"They were already there," He replied, pushing back up the ladder.

"What do you mean?" Barbara asked.

"They were already here. The hard part was finding the light switch," He smirked.

"Where does the power come from?" Roy asked.

"No idea," Dick replied.

"You mentioned an elevator yesterday?" Barbara sat straighter.

"That was already here too," He gestured down another stone passage.

Wally dashed down the passage and they all followed him. The hallway was barely lit, and a small stream of water trickled down the wall. Wally was already around the first turn by the time Dick even got to the hallway.

"How is he so fast?" Dick asked, out of breath as they chased after him.

"His uncle is a scientist. That may have something to do with it," Artemis brushed a stray hair from her face.

"You think he's drugged?" Roy called from behind them, "I think it's just sugar!"

Dick was at the lead and laughed as he flew around the corner and into the next room after Wally.

"I'm not sure Dick's in his right mind either," Barbara nearly tripped on a loose rock as she turned around the corner.

The next room was huge. The ceiling wasn't that high, but the room was long. There were cleanly cut stone walls that separated chambers about the size of a van. The middle of the room had an odd encryption on the floor. It was impossible to figure out what it was. Barbara curiously crouched down and started brushing off the dust that had collected.

On the other end of the room, an elevator about the size of a van was there, with old rails around it and an old button on it. There were no markings or anything to say who made it.

"It looks like... a garage?" Wally guessed.

"Yeah. The elevator has steel supports, so I'm guessing that's what it is," Dick tapped the elevator's floor.

"I- I can't figure out what this says. Why are there less lights in here?" Barbara looked bemused.

She kept brushing away the dust, but the lights were dim and she couldn't make out the inscription's meaning. It still just looked like a bunch of lines. Whoever made it was good with a chisel. They each had sharp turns and smooth edges.

"Wanna grab some lunch Arty?" Wally casually said.

"You mean you want a feast? C'mon Roy," Artemis waved Roy to follow her. Wally looked very slightly downcast as Roy followed her. He did perk up after a few seconds though, after all, she didn't get angry at him for calling her Arty. He chased after her.

Barbara and Dick awkwardly stood around.

"Did they just ditch us?" Dick asked.

"I think so..." Barbara frowned, brushing off the dust from her pants.

"Do want to get lunch too?" Dick asked, starting to walk back to the main room.

"Fine," Barbara started following him. The secrets of the cave could wait.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed. If you don't mind, please leave a review or follow. You guys come up with pretty good thoughts that I might add eventually. I also like to hear how you guys like it or what your favorite parts are. I may bring them out more.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm sorry that I can't update as often as other authors. With school and writers blocks, my schedule is pretty full. I'm also juggling band on top of this all. Thanks to everyone that followed, favorite, and of course reviewed. I'm going to try to start replying to comments. You guys keep me going.**

**MaliBatgirl: Your review reminded me to get working on this chapter. Thanks!**

**gintama200: (and other people probably): This story isn't meant to be fast. It's going to be moving slightly faster for a bit, then it might slow down again. I will also probably include chapters dedicated to other characters than Dick and Barbara. I like to give time for character development.**

**MarburyBlur: maybe (probably)**

**BlackCheetah16: Yes...?**

**Thanks to the other reviewers so far; TheShyShadow, RedScotch444, jdcocoagirl, Phoenix'sSoul.**

**On to the chapter. I didn't give myself time to read through it carefully, if there is any big mistakes, a PM or review about it would be nice. I'm still taking ideas. I know where I want to go but not how to get there. Please review, favorite and follow.**

* * *

Barbara headed to a local cafe a few blocks from home. She idly ordered her usual, not feeling really hungry. She had been thinking ever since the team's first night. She couldn't help but be worried about what was going to happen. Dick and the others would be risking themselves every night while she was forced to stay in a dark cave. Dick hadn't taken all of the team out again since, but Barbara knew for a fact that Artemis had gone out on patrol by herself once or twice. Other than Dick, Artemis was the only other person the team that she talked to often.

Barbara impatiently waited for her drink, but her thoughts were interrupted.

"Babs!"

Barbara turned quickly, but seeing nothing, turned back around. Dick was sitting the chair across from her, calmly pulling a book from his bag. She glared at him.

"Don't call me that, for the millionth time-"

"But..."

"Please?"

"Fine," Dick sat back and glumly read through his book.

Barbara sighed. "What are you doing here?"

The reply was "visiting you". She crossed her arms. What was he really doing here?

"Artemis told me you weren't sure about how the team would end up," Dick started, putting down his book.

"I know almost nothing about the others," Barbara sat straight.

"Hmm. True. Your point?"

"How can I know that I can trust them?"

"First, talk to them."

Barbara flinched. The conversation went quiet as Barbara's drink was delivered to the table.

The waitress left. Dick waited. Barbara saw the truth in his words. She hadn't bothered to interact with Dick's friends from out of town.

"I trust you more." She said briefly.

"Wally and Roy have a apartment downtown. You know where Artemis lives, and both her and Roy met as Roy finished his bow training. Artemis got her skills from her father, who taught her to shoot. Roy was trained by Oliver Queen," Dick said.

"Oliver Queen?"

"Yep. Philanthropist billionaire with bow skills. A bit eccentric, but I'll look into it another day," Dick snatched a sip from her sitting coffee. Barbara took off the top and took a sip from the other side.

"Also, where's this sudden magic money coming from?"

"What do you mean?" Dick asked.

"You're wearing expensive looking clothing for once. Not goodwill shirts or whatever you called them," Barbara replied.

"I turned eighteen."

"You've had your inheritance for years."

"I might have been lying. Sorry-"

"What? But-"

"I knew you would react like this."

"I could given you money or something at least. Wait-" Barbara stopped. He had enough money for a lot of other things.

"Where did you get money to live?" Barbara asked.

Dick made a face. "I was getting to that. I wanted to show you- er.. introduce you tomorrow. Are you free?"

"Sorry, I'm starting my desk job at the police station. I'll try and get the afternoon off," Barbara replied apologetically.

"It's fine. I need to finish some things anyway," Dick said, standing up.

"See you tomorrow then. Don't get killed," Barbara watched Dick as he walked down the street. Funny. A month ago she would have never said anything like that.

Dick watched as SWAT teams prepped at the police headquarters. Unfortunately, they had no idea where the star reporter Vicki Vale was. She had been missing for several days, but the public had just been informed. Dick needed a way to get this information before the public, but that was an issue for a later date. He needed to find the reporter.

He subconsciously kept watch for Batman. He had to be on the case too. Dick didn't want to run into him. He had already checked with the rest of team, excluding Barbara. Everybody was either busy or visiting someone out of town for the night. It would be a long, solo, lonely night. He drove his new motorcycle that he got for his birthday down to the docks. It was the only obvious place that came up. At night, the place was covered in secret dealings in the warehouses free for the taking. He hid his bike behind a dumpster and nimbly climbed to the top of a warehouse. The warehouses were close enough that he could get between them easily.

He ignored the few quiet dealings. Dick stopped and turned on his police radio. It was small enough that it fit in his boot. He turned it on and listened for any advances in the case. It crackled to life and Dick heard a conversation that involved a ransom had been sent in. One million. That was odd. They could probably get away with ten million. He turned off the radio and kept moving. He kept his ears trained to the thugs on the street. At the rate this was going though, he would probably have to interrogate some.

Dick targeted a small group of three in a tight circle. He pulled the his escrima from his back storage and slid down a ramp to fall behind them. The two men closest to him were roughly knocked out and Dick pinned the last one to the ground.

Dick made his voice deeper. "Where is the reporter?"

"What? Who the h-" The thug looked terrified.

Dick hit him hard in the gut with his escrima. There was a crack. "Where?"

"I know, I know, stop!" The man had a crazed traumatized look.

"Go!" Dick shouted in his face.

"I-I've heard t-that s-something is going down at dock warehouse 7-3. That's all I know!"

Man, this guy was a mess. Was he really that scary?

"On a scale of one to ten, how scary am I?" Dick asked with a small smirk.

"What?" The man looked like he'd been slapped.

"Whoops," Dick said under his breath. He picked the man up and slammed him back on the ground. The man was unconscious.

"7-3, 7-3, 7-3," Dick repeated while standing up. He glanced around and pinpointed the right direction. He took off down the right direction.

Dick could tell that this area hadn't been visited often. The building were completely unkept and the few lights that were there were either flicking or dead. There wasn't even a moon to allow safe enough vision to walk. He idly noted to get night vision as he climbed a building. Dick squinted for the right place. There was a faint light in a distant building. He immediantly dashed across the rooftop and made it across the tightly spaced buildings. When he reached the building, he strained to hear if anyone was inside.

There were a few quiet mutterings and footsteps. There wasn't any signs of a struggle or anything. Maybe the reporter was unconscious? He jumped on the building and looked for the staircase down into it. Dick discovered a small hatch and slipped in. He came out in a dark hallway. Slipping out his escrima sticks, he crept to the nearby door and lightly turned the knob. Locked. He slipped a hand in his boot and produced a knife. He unceremoniously jabbed it into the hole to break the lock. It cracked audibly and he was able to slip it open.

Dick kept low to the floor as he glanced in the room. It was a small room that was also dark, with a either drunk or sleeping guard in a chair. He quietly got behind him and tapped him lightly. The man was completely asleep. Dick tied him to the desk in front of him before standing.

The window in front of him gave Dick a wide view of interior warehouse. There were around ten guards around another guardhouse. The reporter had to be there. He turned and left the room. Dick quickly made his way into a vent, somehow being able to fit. He moved as quickly as he could to the vents above the main room. Dick finally reached a vent cover and quietly slipped it off. He dropped down on top of the guard house.

Luckily, the guardhouse, too, had a ventilation vent. He produced a screw driver and opened it. He jumped in feet first, quickly spinning in a complete circle. No guards. The blonde reporter was tied up in the chair. Other than a few scrapes, she seemed mostly alright. Dick stepped forward and ripped off the cloth on her mouth.

"You're not Batman," She blurted, her eyes widened.

"Thanks," Dick said, cutting the ropes tying her to the chair.

"Sorry— but seriously, who are you?" Vicki Vale asked, standing.

"I don't have a good name yet. Maybe you could help?" Dick questioned.

"Hmm. How about you get me out first," She said, looking a bit disheveled.

"Fine. Here, I'll help you up to the vent," He replied.

He helped her up on the room of the guardhouse. He quietly told her to stay there and he casually walked out the guardhouse door. Instantly the thugs swarmed him. Dick grabbed one by the shirt and kindly drove him into the wall. He pulled his wing-dings from his gauntlet and the sharp objects flew and disarmed several men. Soon, he dispatched them with a few careful swings. He grabbed the reporter and he handed her one of the criminal's phones.

"I didn't grab a name," she said a bit breathless.

"Nightwing," Dick replied," Just came up with it."

"Thanks," Vicki replied gratefully.

"For saving you?"

"For the good news headline."

Nightwing saluted and quickly retrieved his wing-dings. He scaled the wall and broke a window. He made his way to his bike and drove back to the Cave. He collapsed on a cot there. He peeked a glance around his 'bedroom'. He really needed to get an apartment. Another note on a long list.

* * *

**Again, sorry for any mistakes. I wrote this in a very noisy room and people were trying to get a look at what I was doing at the same time, so this one probably isn't as good as other chapters. (sorry it's a bit rushed at the end).**


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry I haven't updated. School is crazy, so I'll even be keeping my note short. I like how this turned out. I will probably be posting other stories here soon. Just a heads up. Thanks to all that reviewed, followed, or added this to your favorites. Keep it up, Enjoy!

P.S I spent two minutes editing this. I always do this. I need to stop this. Bye!

* * *

Sunlight streamed through the window and onto Barbara's face. She awoke, then tiredly and feebly pulled off her blankets and stood. She shuffled to the kitchen. Barbara turned on the TV and sat down.

"Last night, a young vigilante appeared and dispatched a whole gang operation. He found and freed reporter Vicki Vale. Authorities— and Vicki Vale, have no answer for who this mysterious man is. However, we have been provided with a nickname. The vigilante, Nightwing, had a symbol that appears like a blue bird, and his current and future actions are unknown," The reporter said, a rough, but accurate sketch of Dick's symbol behind him.

Barbara stood, eyes widening, "**That little**-!"

* * *

Her day only got worse from there. Her first day at the station was overshadowed by rumors of Nightwing. Barbara wouldn't be going in the field, but spent the day at the station, sorting and preparing files for cases. She was "_lucky_" enough to get to start the file for Nightwing. She took a lot of self-control to not call him names. He just gave himself away, revealed himself to the public, and lost their covert advantage. Assuming he hadn't been shot or anything, he would take her to his 'friend' that afternoon too.

Barbara steeled herself through it and did her job. There had been an odd buzz of crime on the streets, which gave her a good extra stack of work. Crime had been picking up, even Batman couldn't keep it down forever. She finished and was let off work soon after. She couldn't wait to give him a piece of her mind.

She missed the crowd of people crowding **(**_really_**)** around the window. Just before she started walking down the stairs, she heard someone point out that there was someone waiting in front of the building. Barbara curiously peered out. Dick. He was standing next to his bike, tapping his foot impatiently. The other officers had to think he was some thug. She reluctantly grabbed her bag and trotted out.

"I hope you have another helmet," she called as he put his on at her approach. The whole headquarters watched as he tossed a helmet to her and Barbara Gordon, the daughter of the commissioner got on the bike of the person nobody had ever seen before.

"Is the team coming?" She asked, keeping her head down as she put on the helmet.

"I wanted you to get the first impression," He said over the engine as they sped off.

As soon as they got to a speed that covered their conversation, Barbara said, "What did you think you were doing? You exposed yourself to the public, and now we've lost our chance to get started quietly!"

"Did you expect me to leave her?" Dick tensed.

"Of course not! You didn't have to give a name— nice one by the way, and let her get as good of a look as she did," She replied.

"Thanks, but what's the downside to this anyways? So what if Nightwing's an urban legend? It's not like people will talk about him for much longer."

"Are you oblivious? There's talk everywhere about this! Vigilantes spring up all the time, but they die or disappear quickly, and don't ever do anything significant. You saved Vicki Vale. Vicki freaking Vale. Nightwing is famous now. Soon there will be speculation—if you can fight, you must be super powered or trained by Batman. Just you wait," Barbara hissed.

"Well- when you put it that way–" He replied.

"The customer is always right," She said confidently.

"You aren't paying me, are you? Was that supposed to make sense?" He shot back.

"Shut up **_Wingnut_**," She said, ignoring Dick's "was that even a joke" speech as they sped off to meet his mystery friend.

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Pull. Aim. Fire. Artemis was practicing her archery. Practice made perfect, which made her perfect. 'Cause that's all she did. She didn't have any other hobbies unfortunately. Other than occasionally tormenting annoying redheads. Archery require perfection. One small miscalculation and her arrow is going nowhere but off target. She lowered her bow and pressed the button that pulled the target dummy to her. She effortlessly reached out and carefully retrieved off her arrows. Made sure not to snap the shafts.

She was at the local firing range. It was pricy, but you could rent a small and private range for your own delight. She felt more comfortable not shooting a bow in front of people while people were using firearms. Plus, she was sure that bows were allowed there anyways. She finished putting away her bow before she turned and saw a figure in the doorway. She sighed, dropped her bag, and pulled out her bow and quiver again. She turned and resumed practice.

The figure darted forward and pulled and arrow from her quiver, then shot back to his position again. He twirled it in his hand, watching her. "Arty, you don't have to practice constantly. Roy and I won't shun you if you visit. Have you even talked to Dick or Barb lately?" He said, eyes watching her smooth movements.

"Wally, the team is a joke. We haven't done anything together since our first patrol. We've only done things in pairs, not as a whole," Artemis replied, sighing.

Luckily, the shooting range had TVs. Wally turned the nearest one on and turned it to news. Artemis kept her eyes on the target. Until her face was covered in a familiar blue. She turned sharply. Dick's symbol sat there in all its glory. She dropped down and put away her stuff.

"Call Roy," She said briefly before pushing past him.

"Can't we have lunch first?" Wally asked.

"No."

* * *

Meanwhile

* * *

Dick parked by an expensive apartment building and they went inside. The sun just reached the top of the sky as Dick led Barbara inside. They went up a staircase and they climbed to the tenth story.

"My friend doesn't like it when I show others that I visit. Which means I take the stairs," He said around the fifth level. Eventually the reached it and they went through the hallways. Dick muttered number under his breath.

"I haven't been here in a while. Sorry," He said, finally reaching the door.

Barbara looked around the expensive floor and walls. "Your friend must be loaded," She muttered under her breath.

"She is," Dick smirked, "by the way, are you allergic to cats?"

"No. Why?"

"No reason," was all he said before opening the door.

He gestured for her to enter. Inside the place was practically diamond encrusted. Huge tv, a fridge that would make Wally whimper, and all sorts of things that she would never use. There were twenty holes in the wall, and when she neared them, she saw the inhabitants. Cats. Everywhere. Each cubby had a cat, a bed, and a litter box.

"Oh gosh," she managed to say briefly before several cats left their cubbies. She had expected them to be mangy, but each had silky fur and were somewhat docile.

"Selina?" Dick called. He walked throughout the house and Barbara carefully sat on sofa. It was surprisingly free of hair. She turned on the TV and tuned it to the news. Once again, Nightwing's symbol appeared. Didn't they have anything else to report? Dick walked in and collapsed on the couch.

"I guess we wait. Assuming she's not in France or something," He said cheerfully.

"What can she do for us?" She asked, bored.

"She liked the idea of the team. Selina runs a— interesting career. She knows things," Dick replied.

"Might as well call the team. If you trust her, I do," Barbara said, carefree.

"Babs... Thank you. For trusting me, I mean," He said, looking at her seriously.

"Just call them Wingnut."

* * *

Within an hour, everybody was on their way. After a long snack and long drink, Dick opted to take a hot shower in Selina's expensive bathroom. Supposedly, Selina had allowed him the ability to keep clothes there and take showers. Just as he grabbed an extra set of clothes and the bathroom door audibly locked, somebody knocked on the door. Barbara took a glance through the peephole before opening the door. All three teammates stood outside.

Wally immediantly sped past her. "Ohmygoshthefridgeissobig!" Was all they heard. And, "Woah, there's a lot of milk!"

Artemis smiled and walked in. Roy glanced around before entering, also smiling.

Barbara locked the door and turned back. Artemis had instantly been surrounded by cats as she sat. Roy, laughed at Wally, who was desperately searching the fridge for something to drink other than milk and water. He eventually settled on milk and a heavy meal. Barbara waited for Dick to get out of the shower by talking with Artemis.

There was a thump on the balcony, and a click soon followed. The slide door opened. Everybody looked at the sound. Cats all ran towards the figure.

"Who the heck are you?" She shouted, hand reaching for her belt. Catwoman? Dick was friends with Catwoman? Though nobody had ever seen her, it was widely known that she wore a leather suit, goggles, and had several cats that occasionally went with her. Her hand now held a whip. Barbara's instinct kicked in. She flipped back over the couch and grabbed Dick's bag. Artemis was already standing as Barbara did this. The whip flew forward and tied up Artemis's hands. She growled just in time to be pulled to the ground. The whip was freed and quickly flew towards Barbara. Roy stepped in the way and somehow managed to catch it. Catwoman pulled hard. They all watched in shock as Roy hit the ground.

The small agile figure flew across the room. Artemis stood, even though she was good at the bow, she had been trained to fight without it. Catwoman seemed a little shocked by the sudden attack. Artemis mercilessly threw blow after blow. Just as Catwoman recovered and started to counter advance, Roy and Barbara stood, Barbara armed with Dick's gear. There was a loud thud as Artemis hit the ground. Wally stood a bit quickly and ran past Roy and Barbara. He was instantly knocked unconscious.

Barbara swore that she heard Dick singing in the shower as she moved to attack with Roy. Catwoman was fast, but Roy was able push through her blocks with strength. Catwoman easily knocked Dick's weapons from Barbara's hands and punched her back. Barbara was out of practice. She turned and ran for the bathroom. She hit the door several times, very hard. The shower cut off and Dick hurriedly put on a towel and ran out. Catwoman stopped cold. Artemis grabbed her legs and pulled her to the ground. She yelled triumphantly and pinned her to the ground.

"Artemis! Stop!" Dick yelled, running as fast he could in a towel and yelled a bit more.

"Richard," Selina said, voice dangerous.

"Grayson, put on some freaking clothes," Barbara said firmly. His head bent in defeat. He sulked away to get dressed.

After another hour, and another couple explanations, the team sat as Selina paced. "Dick, are you sure? They aren't exactly... ready,"

"They know the risks," He said evenly. The team had gathered their equipment from their vehicles had it laid out where she could see.

"You aren't equipped heavily enough, you don't have any way of transportation other than licensed vehicles, you are all broke," Selina listed problems.

"At least I have a job," Barbara said, halfheartedly defending herself.

"Hmmph" Selina grunted.

"Kitten, I'm worried about you. I'm going to start helping you, but you have to let me know where you need me. A war on crime is expensive," She continued. The team was a bit started to hear that her "kitten" was Dick. They must've been friends for a long time.

Dick gives her a look.

"Fine, fine, I give," Selina held up her hands,"There are a few things going on. Rumors and whispers of an assassination on Bruce Wayne. It is supposed to happen at a charity ball in a month. The one that happens at his house."

Barbara's blood turns cold. Her dad was going to be at that ball! She had turned down his invitation for her to come with him, but the offer was still open.

"I think Dick and I can handle that. There's a much bigger job for the rest of you," Selina continued.

Or maybe this was a good opportunity for Barbara she could try to prove to Dick that she could handle herself. What could go wrong anyway, these were probably untrained thugs that would be performing the killings anyways.

"I think something really bad is coming. I have found their headquarters. That's what the rest of you will be destroying. This whole thing is bad. Instead of telling Batman all this, I want to see you guys do this. I'll be helping Dick, and Barbara can keep us conne-"

"I can't. I'll be visiting mom for a day while my dad goes to the event," Barbara lied.

"I guess I'll keep contact between us then," Selina continues," To be honest, my mind is telling me that this is bigger than we think, but we have to keep this city together. This is too big for me to ignore, and I can't do it alone. Are you with me?"

"Yes. We are." Dick says confidently. A few moments pass, filled with tension and a grim excitement.

As always, Wally cracks the ice. "And now we need blood to seal the pact," and an evil laugh from him made them chuckle.

"Okay, the party is in January, so let's get started with the plan." Selina said as the sun finally started setting.

* * *

Reviews inspire me to update faster! See ya!


	7. Chapter 7

**HECK YEAH**

**TWO CHAPTERS A WEEK**

**EXCEPT THE SECOND IS JUST TO FILL A FUTURE PLOT HOLE. AND IS A FILLER. AND IS SHORT. Crap. Well. Here you go?**

* * *

Barbara determinedly put on the dark outfit and started scaling the GCPD building. She had had an idea that would definitely give her an advance over Dick. He wasn't stopping her this time. She reached the evidence and armory floor. With a few jabs, the window lock was broken and she was in. The GCPD was nearly abandoned around three. Within two hours the place would be packed.

She rushed through the hallway, avoiding the solitary lights. It seemed that a few people were here, working on the recent rise in crime. She busted open the evidence locker as a light turned off in the hallway. Barbara rushed in as footsteps echoed down the hall. She shut the door just as the person got outside the door. Huddling next to the door, she held her breath, hoping whoever it was wasn't coming in the room. The footsteps faded into the distance.

The room was composed of shelves of boxes. She checked for cameras before starting to check the boxes. There were mostly nobody files in the majority of the boxes. Crimes that never built up too long. As she frustratingly checked another box, something caught her eye. The lockers! The locked lockers. She muttered curses under her breath, producing a crowbar. Dick shouldn't leave his toys laying around. She checked the hallway and took the precaution of locking the door.

There was a loud sound of metal hitting metal, and the even louder sound of metal bending. Barbara opened the first locker, flipping on her flashlight. It was mostly lower ranking villains, Killer Moth and such. She went to the next one and repeated the loud action. There was only one, Catwoman. _Heh. _Selina would probably want her to get rid of that. Barbara cautiously opened it and searched for any weapons or gadgets to help her. Nada. The box didn't even have a picture. Nevertheless, Barbara dropped a cotton ball in and lit it with a lighter. She closed the locker, hopefully containing the smoke. The little slits would hide the amount of smoke.

There were three more lockers. Barbara sighed and opened each one. Only a small box in the last one that had anything to do with Batman. It was just a few documents, not the gadgets that she hoped for. Her black slumped against the locker as a small trail of smoke went up. She swore a bit more under her breath and stretched her arm deep back in the locker. There was a small panel. Barbara grinned and pushed the panel aside. As expected, the compartment had a bag with a crude bat on it. She took all of the documents in the file and went to the armory. She stole a few smoke grenades, Kevlar armor, two Tasers, and several other gadgets.

With the bat-bag and loads of police equipment in another bag, she opened the locker to check the files. Barbara hadn't expected a wall of smoke to shoot out. 'Oh frick' was all she thought before smoke alarms went off. The next thought to cross her mind was a lot less innocent. The heavy bags weighed her down as she dashed to the window and vaulted out of it. She landed on a plant pot. She dropped the bags first, then dropped down herself. Luckily there was no one on the street as she ran into an alley a few blocks over. Barbara changed into a jacket and jeans and carried the bags home. Mission success.

* * *

A week later, Barbara was up at one in the morning. Again. She only had a few hours each night to work on her project. There were a few light pops as she stretched. Being the same position for almost an hour had made her back tense. She stood, smirking a little at her handiwork. In front of her was a female version of the bat costume. Other than a few changes here and there, it was the same as Batman's. Screw you, Grayson. I can sew.

As expected, the bat bag was full of gadgets and things that Barbara didn't understand. There were several items that she recognized as bat-a-rangs and small orbs that were probably smoke pellets. She opened the window and chucked one across the street at one of her less favorite neighbors. The whole wall that it hit disappeared behind a column of smoke. Their fire alarm went off and Barbara suppressed giggles. Also, a few metal cables that were probably made of titanium were in the bottom. Stuff like this was worth thousands on the Internet. Looking at her set of gear, she came to the truth that she had a better set of equipment then Nightwing.

* * *

The fateful day of the mission came. Dick was in a tuxedo as Wally, Artemis, and Roy put on their costumes and armed up. Roy had two whole extra quivers full of arrows on his bike. Artemis had ditched the car for a motorbike similar to Roy and Dick's bikes. It was clear that she would be bringing extras also. Wally suited up and put on the few gadgets that he had. Barbara was tucking her bat suit into a bag as she got ready for the action. Dick had his outfit in his bag, which ended up being heavy with his escrima sticks and wing-dings stuffed in there.

The plan was clear.

Dick and Selina would be undercover at the party and when the attack started, the rest would take out the headquarters. Unbeknownst to everyone, Barbara was secretly at the party, ready to make her debut. Let the insanity begin.

* * *

**The next should be longer by a lot.**

**The last chappy had next to no changes in the counts. Reviews let me know if anyone is still reading. Please. I'll end up updating anyways, but I cut the story shorter if no one is reading. Thanks to everybody has reviewed, followed, and added this story to their favorites. **

**SPRING BREAK IS COMING. THE NEXT CHAPTER IS WHERE THE INSANITY BEGINS.**


	8. Chapter 8

**This is the second to last chapter. Next chapter I will wrap it up and it'll be over. Thanks to everyone who reviewed, followed, and added this story to your favorites. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Bright lights dazzled Dick as he followed Selina. This was it. Wayne Manor. He hadn't even made it here before he had run away. Away from the life of the silver spoon. Away from Bruce Wayne. And towards the team. Dick took a deep breath before continuing his steady pace, catching up with Selina.

"Any idea on how these nuts will do this?" He muttered under his breath.

"They normally make it showy," She whispered back, casually glancing towards the crowds.

"How much time will that give us?"

"Anywhere between ten seconds and an hour by my guess," She replied.

"That isn't a lot of time."

"I noticed," Selina's tart response ringed back.

"Selina, are you friends with Bruce?" Dick said, casually strolling next to her as she led him through the crowd.

"Dick?" She said, her voice dripping with venom.

"Yes?"

"Shut up." With that, she promptly disappeared into the crowd.

Dick stopped cold, glancing around. All looked clear. Simply a large amount of people with a large amount of money. He could see the possible appeal in robbing them, but an assassination? It just didn't look likely. Somehow, he managed a look at Bruce Wayne. He was surrounded by women with more jewels than dress. He seemed to be enjoying himself.

Uncomfortably carrying his bag of weapons and his suit, he had a pit stop at the buffet. Then he went for the bathroom. It was time for Nightwing to get ready. On the way, a man came around the corner, holding a huge duffel bag. How he even got in, Dick would never know, but he shoved his way into a back room. Totally not suspicious, right? He casually pressed a new button on his watch twice, the sign for probable or possibly danger. A few seconds later a cat symbol on his watch lit up. The sign of acknowledgment. The whole team wasn't wired up yet. Once the attack started, the whole team would have the same network.

* * *

Dick got dressed in the bathroom and his gear equipped. After checking the hallway, he opened a window on the end and climbed out. Luckily the building was so ornate and detailed that it was covered in handholds. A cold wind chilled him to the bone as he reached the roof. He pulled on his suit jacket over his costume as a desperate way of warming.

The first ramp of the roof was before him. On the top was the skylight. It was the perfect way to get a view of the room. It was another rough climb up. He was shivering badly as he reached the top. The second he shakily got to his feet, he saw a lithe figure crouching at the edge of the skylight.

Instantly a wing-ding appeared in his hand and he called a warning. The figure stood and turned. A cascade of red hair flowed down. A bat symbol stood in the middle of her chest. There was a cowl over her face with ears. It was colored several shades of dark. Her body was feminine, but with a strong tone. She flinched at the sight of him with a weapon drawn.

"Who are you?" Nightwing called out, raising the throwing device to a good angle.

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Mystery girl replied, a little on edge.

"It does. Who. Are. You?" He replied. Why in the world was she there?

"Look buddy, we're on the same team-"

"How am I supposed to know if we are? Just cause you're wearing a bat suit?" Dick was getting impatient.

"Shut up! Bruce Wayne could be attacked at any time and you're yelling at the one person up here helping!" She shot a hand in her yellow belt and pulled out what he recognized as a bat-a-rang.

"Fine..." He said, walking up next to her.

There were several loud clicks. They both turned quick to see a figure with a silenced weapon pointed at them. Instantly two metal throwing devices sliced his hands and his gun clattered to the ground. The two new vigilantes jumped into action. The man was pinned to the ground and Dick clicked his watch three times. Danger confirmed. Also the sign for team two to move in.

Nightwing looked over at her as she delivered the knockout blow to the man. She stood and saw him staring.

"What?" she asked. Her grin told him exactly what she knew.

"Nothing— we need to get to work. Whoever you are," He replied, walking towards the skylight. "What am I supposed to call you anyway?"

"Well, I was thinking something like, Bat-"

"Look! It's Nightwing and— Batgirl?" A rough voice yelled.

Three thugs climbed up next to them by a ladder and quickly took out the same weapon as the other. Batgirl muttered something about that name being terrible. She kicked one into a chimney as Dick pulled out his escrima, deftly knocking one aside and throwing the other onto the skylight.

Batgirl disarmed her thug and went for Nightwing's extra as he went for the one on the skylight. The thug on the skylight fired round after round after Dick as he dodged every single one. Just as Nightwing went for the gunman, the last round shattered the glass. If the loud clicks weren't enough, Nightwing and the gunman fell from the ceiling, alerting everyone. Nightwing landed on the cake as the thug was in the punch bowl. He picked himself up, sliding to the ground. Mmm, red velvet cake. He looked up at Batgirl, tossing her thug down after them. He landed right on the head chair, where Bruce Wayne luckily wasn't sitting. Batgirl tied a cable to the edge of the skylight and dropped down. The doors blew off their hinges meanwhile. The main group of assassins came in.

Nightwing ran for Bruce Wayne and led him down a side hallway. Batgirl glanced over and followed, watching their back as the assassins loudly demanded Bruce Wayne. Pretty Boy Wayne looked shocked at the two of them pushing him into a side room and locking themselves in with him.

The rich philanthropist promptly collapsed on a chair as Nightwing dragged a desk in front of the door.

"Do you know who they are?" Bruce asked.

"No," Nightwing said.

"Why do they want me?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Batgirl replied, handing Nightwing a few smoke pellets.

There was a flash of impatient annoyance in the very rich man's face. It was out of character.

"Look here buddy! We're saving you, but we can throw you out of you prefer," Batgirl slammed her fist down.

"Go help them, this room is safe enough! There are innocents in there!" Bruce shouted.

"Quiet down. Batgirl, can you get that vent open?" Nightwing asked. There was a vent with sturdy metal bolts and metal ties. Batgirl used a bat-a-rang to cut the ties and she unscrewed the bolts with the tip. She beckoned him and they retied it on their exit.

Within an hour the side thugs were out. Smoke filled the main hall as Batgirl and Nightwing delivered justice on the gunmen. Soon the room was cleared of thugs and Nightwing's watch lit up. The number two blinked rapidly. Team 2 needed help. Now.

* * *

**See ya guys next time! Please review, it helps me know where I need to improve!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Stick around for the epilogue after this. I hope you enjoy! I'm trying to get these last chapters out quick.**

* * *

Three bikes flew down the rough road to the factory district. Selina's map moved in the wind as Artemis tried to read it.

"The place is the biggest abandoned factory in the city. The place has to be crawling with thugs." Artemis said into her mic.

"Let's do it!" Roy replied.

"Shouldn't we wait for the signal?" Wally muttered

"Signal? Screw that! Let's do this!" Artemis yelled, speeding to the vehicle's full potential.

They climbed a nearby building and got a view of the factory. It was made of old bricks, and acid rain had taken its toll. The large smoke stacks rivaled nearby by skyscrapers. Artemis and Roy shot two arrows with metal lines to a lower level. Then they fired another for Wally. Gifts from Selina.

Wally reluctantly used his baton to ride down the line after the archers. Instantly the archers started to get a metal door open. Wally watched for thugs meanwhile. As soon as the door was open they all rushed in the office. The signal blinked on.

"We got the go ahead. Stop whatever is going on here, hopefully have fun doing it. Maybe they'll be some explosives or something to get rid of it," Wally remarked.

"Gotcha. Help me out with this vent," Roy said. Wally came over and they pried it off the wall.

"Listen!" Artemis hissed. They opened the blinds and saw a truck with barrels of chemicals driving into the burn room. The smoke stacks were on top of the building.

"That must be their plan— something to do with chemicals..." Wally said under his breath.

"'Something to do with chemicals'? That isn't much to go off of," Artemis said.

"I'm gonna go in to learn more," Wally declared, getting his baton ready.

"You can't be serious-"

"Stay here, cover the door. I'll be back." Wally said, getting in the vent.

Roy handed him a taser arrow. "Good luck," Roy said shortly.

"Wally!" Artemis exclaimed.

"See ya later Arty," Wally said before letting go of the edge of the vent, sliding down.

Roy smashed the windows so they could shoot out. "He'll be fine."

* * *

Wally dropped out of the vent. Two thugs next to the vent looked shocked for the few moments they were conscious. Wally made quick work of them and moved them into a closet. He climbed a crate and looked into the burn room. The thugs were dumping the chemicals on the ground. The multicolored liquid covered the ground. He opened the window and overheard a conversation.

"So, we just burn these together and it makes a toxic cloud?"

"Yep. It covers Gotham and then we rob it clean when everybody dies."

Oh gosh. He had to tell the others. Wally pressed his wrist for his communicator. It fizzled and smoked. Looks like he was going solo. Like he wasn't anyway. He used his rope hook to pull a vent off the wall with a little work. He jumped up and used the vent to get into the chemical room. He hit the ground noisily, the liquid splashing on his shoes and pants. It had turned a grim shade of blood. The scent was awful. This stuff was practically already deadly. He coughed mercilessly and managed to tie a cloth over his mouth and nose, which improved his condition slightly. A storm was on the horizon, judging by the storm clouds outside the windows. He noted it in the back of his mind.

Wally saw what looked like the controls for the room. The three furnaces needed several changes during burning, which were controlled by the control center. Maybe he could close the vents! He looked carefully for thugs, but finding none, he ran for the controls. After a bit of experimenting, he closed all three vents and all ways of air passage with gates.

There was a skylight on the ceiling, and it was the final thing to lock. Wally had to climb a staircase to get to the button to close a metal gate over it. This place was equipped for war. Looking closer, there were crates of weapons every ten meters. Crates of ammo everywhere.

Suddenly there were footsteps on the roof. Wally went still as a laser cutter went to work on the metal over the skylight. He had to stop who ever it was. He dashed to the controls and desperately looked for any way to stop the cutter. All they had to do was drop in a match and Wally would be dead. He opened the skylight gate and the laser cutter dropped onto a support beam. Wally rushed to close it again, but it jammed. Oh frick. He pressed the button over and over again but it unjammed too late. A single match fell from the skylight just as he managed to unjam the gate.

At least he did something good in his life. The chemicals flared to life. They glowed unnaturally as the fire spread and the gate closed. The room was airtight. Deadly gas rised in the room as Wally watched. He reached for his watch. Might as well let them know.

* * *

It was raining. Nightwing was driving his bike while Batgirl clung to him. She was surprised he didn't recognize her instantly. It was so abnormal that he didn't notice it was her. Dick didn't even put her on a list of people for Batgirl. Though she did have a history of kicking his—

"We're here," Dick interrupted her thoughts, leaving out his normal chit-chat. Barbara had to remind herself that he didn't know who she was. Nightwing stepped a few steps forward towards the gate and tapped the button on his watch six times. An arrow flew from a window nearby and briefly sparked in their view.

"There." Dick said briefly.

They climbed the side fire escape to get to the right window. It was still a good two meters above them. Nightwing quickly got in before she even fathomed how to get in. She threw up the cable and it hooked on the sill. Batgirl climbed up and thought about how to break the news to him. She jumped down inside the building.

"Di- Nightwing, look out!" Was all she heard before a red arrow flew at her face. She just barely ducked out of the way before it smashed against the wall behind her.

"Roy, You idiot!" Artemis smacked him in the arm.

"At least I didn't use a secret identity!" Roy shot back.

"Guys seriously, now your arguing like-" Nightwing chastised,but stopped, "Wait, where's Wally?"

Artemis looked away. Roy intervened, "He opted to investigate where a truck of chemicals was going. He's over in the burn room."

Just as Barbara came to the conclusion that she should reveal her identity, Roy said something indecipherably inappropriate. Nightwing went over to the window that Roy was looking out of. The rain intensified as three armored trucks drove in front of the burn room. The doors on the back of the trucks opened and groups of thugs came pouring out with canes, batons, and guns.

"Oh no," Artemis managed to whisper.

* * *

The storm hit its peak. Rain thundered down, rolling down the roofs. Lightning flashed every few seconds. A distraught Wally wasn't hearing this as the gas finally hit his level. It filled his lungs and his eyes watered ridiculously. He coughed and strained to climb a pipe as he heard a voice call to attack. Was that Nightwing? Doesn't matter. The pipe gave way. Wally hit the floor of the building hard. It was a ten foot fall at least. His vision was filled with dark spots. He flopped down and looked at the ceiling. The cold concrete pushing a few black spot futilely as the skylight gave way to a light.

It was amazing. It was bright. It was... warm? No. It was searing. Thunder filled Wally's ears as he shook with electricity pounding his every vein. Give me slow poisonous death any day, he thought. Suddenly his vision went dark. _I'm sorry_.

* * *

Nightwing called the attack. They all pounced from the window onto the group of thugs. Wally was in trouble. Just as the first thug went down, a strike of lightning blinded them all and the burn room exploded. The smokestacks toppled and nearly crushed them. A falling brick hit Dick hard as he struggled back to his feet. A crack resounded to all nearby. His vision darkened but a cold fist crushing his heart took him to his feet. _Wally. _The air seemed to disappear. Sound and oxygen escaped Nightwing's body. He couldn't breathe as a scream filled the air a mere feet away. What ever gave him the energy left as he collapsed, but a pair of arms caught him.

Someone shook him awake. A fire crackled as a figure focused in front of his blurry vision. It was Batgirl, and her eyes looked so sad. Had he ever seen them before? He swore he had before. They looked just like... Barbara?

"B-b-Babs?" He croaked, struggling to remember why there was something burning. Why it hurt everywhere.

There was a figure on her knees a few feet away. Once again his vision had to focus, which revealed the girl to be Artemis. Why was she there? Was somebody hurt?

It hit him like a brick wall. He stumbled to his knees and crawled to get a view of the building. Wally. The fire raged as distant sirens got closer. Dick stopped and looked for Roy. A few feet away, Roy was stuck under a fallen wall. He seemed ok. The fire burned on. Wally was gone.

* * *

The Batwing slowed over the fire and Batman activated the cockpit hatch. He climbed out of the exposed cockpit and glided to the ground. His gaze looked over the young heroes, their backs to him. He would deal with them later. He went to the collapsed wall and pulled out the crimson vigilante from under the wall. The boy was fine. The worst injury he could have was a broken leg.

Batman approached Nightwing, who was on his knees. The girl with the bat outfit had him in a comforting hug, but he seemed numb. Unseeing. What happened? Batman looked over the group. There was another girl in green garb. She had a quiver on her back. It looked like she was inspired from Green Arrow. Batman carefully approached the fire. It was intense. Had to be chemical. Actually, sniffing at the air, it seemed that the fire had toxic agents in it. Batman tapped his arm control a few times and the Batwing dropped a bomb of fire quenching chemicals on the fire. It stopped pretty quick after that.

Was one of their teammates in the fire? Batman grabbed a fallen support and tried to lift it from the doorway. Two pairs of hands helped him and the support moved easily. They dug through the debris and reached the middle of the once great burn room. The girl spotted a split baton. She picked them up and tossed to Nightwing. He went still. Batman saw a hand limp a few feet away. He pulled off the logs and saw the boy. The two ran towards him.

He wasn't burnt. He actually looked really normal. Like he was sleeping. The green dressed girl pushed past them and stared at him. Batman suddenly felt a pang of sadness. They were going through what formed Batman. Maybe not as strong, but maybe so. He returned his gaze to the boy. Batman lowered himself and felt for a pulse. It was a futile gesture, but he was trying to show compassion to the vigilantes. Then, it happened.

A single, solitary beat. Then another, and another, and another. Batman recoiled as the boy let out a painful gasp and sat up quickly. So fast, that the boy was a blur. Batman struggled to keep a shocked expression off of his face as the boy vibrated. The ground around him seemed to heat and the air was just slightly warmer.

The red haired boy looked around in a blur. His green eyes were wide with fear,worry, and doubt filling them. Then, the blonde girl rushed forward and hugged him. He calmed visibly,but still gasping for air. This was very interesting. Would he develop abilities equal to Flash?

Batman's gaze traveled once again to the other pair. They were close. A bit too close for Batman to feel comfortable. Batman looked away as the pair kissed. Roy limped his way over and the whole team got in a group hug.

"We made it," Nightwing breathed out.

"Yeah, though I feel weird," The new speedster said.

"We can figure that out over the weeks we'll be a team. We got this," Nightwing replied.

They all turned to Batman.

"An informant told us about an attack on Bruce Wayne's life, and she also shared us the location of their base. We now know it was something to do with chemicals, and that's all we knew."

"Come on, We should get out of here. I would like to see what you can do," Batman beckoned for them to follow him. The team had been formed. The only problem Batman saw was the League. Though, it wouldn't be hard to get them to agree. After all, funding was a good threat, and Batman had it. The League would soon come to agree to the team. Eventually. The League would accept them. Then the real fun would start.


	10. Epilogue

**This is really just filling plot holes. Thanks to everyone who has** **reviewed, followed, and added this to your favorites. This wasn't made with the best writing, but I hope you enjoyed the story. Please leave positive reviews on this story to let me know where to improve. I have a limited amount of time, so I may have to fix typos later. See ya!**

* * *

A week had passed since the discovery of the team. Batman had been intense at his work, trying to get them accepted into the League. Flash had been pretty keen about it. Wonder Woman demanded proof of their prowess in battle. Aquaman mentioned a possible partner to join, but wasn't sure. The rest just either hated it or didn't think it would end well.

Green Arrow tried to sneak out of the room at the sight of Artemis and Roy, but Superman grabbed his hood. Green Arrow had avidly boasted about his protege archers to the League While Superman chastised and lectured Green Arrow, Batgirl showed a surprising knowledge in the technology, and Nightwing appeared to be decent in it, probably being taught by her. Flash and Wally became friends instantly. Then soon, Barry figured out who he was and was even more excited. Batman automatically stayed near the Bat and the Bird.

* * *

A few days before the team had revealed their identities to the Dark Knight. Each revelation shocked Batman further. Dick Grayson, Bruce Wayne's lost ward. Barbara Gordon, the Commissioner's daughter. Artemis Crock, daughter of the retired Huntress. Wally West, nephew of Iris Allen. Roy Harper, former ward of Oliver Queen.

A bit of sparing showed that each of them had some level of prowess. Nightwing and Batgirl were good in hand to hand. The archers were obviously good at archery. Wally quickly developed an affinity for his speed powers. The vote would be the deciding vote for the team to join the League.

The vote failed. It was a near tie, but the team was shunned from the League for now. He had a much better idea anyways.

* * *

Three weeks later.

The Batmobile thundered down the road on its way to Gotham Park. It flew off the road and into a drain. The car sized drain led to a cave in Gotham Park. The Batmobile went into a waterfall and landed roughly, Batman needing to brake so he didn't go flying into another wall. The tires screeched and he nearly hit the wall.

He gave himself a few moments to regain his composure before climbing out of the car. A short walk down a hallway revealed the main room of the team's base. Apparently they had found a decommissioned BatCave. A few spendings later and the cave was a fully functioning base. As he strode into the room, he took in the surroundings.

Wally and Artemis were fighting over the remote, Roy sitting there impatiently. He soon joined in the fight after a few seconds. The huge screen had been disputed over since Batman bought it.

On the other side of the room, Dick and Barbara were sparing, and Barbara was winning. Batman shook his head as Dick was tripped by her easily and she gave a final hit at his stomach before he collapsed. As she gave a smart remark he sweeper her legs from beneath her. Batman purposely scraped his boot against the wall.

Wally, Roy, and Artemis dropped the remote, as all three were in a tug-of-war. Dick rolled away from Barbara and helped her up. They all walked over to Batman.

"If you aren't too busy, I have a mission for you," He said, a bit of unnoticeable humor in his voice.

"Throw it at us B!" Wally exclaimed, literally vibrating.

"Get suited up," Batman said.

Wally sped away, but Dick somehow threw a line and tripped Wally. Dick and Barbara laughed as they jumped right over him. As the rest of the team went to get dressed, a Batman watched them, a small upwards curve on his mouth.

This would work.


End file.
